Sibling Bonding
by Kagu-tsuchi-13
Summary: Jade and her estranged half sister never saw eye to eye...about anything. But one unexpected visit may make Jade realize that they have more in common than they once believed—especially when it comes to dating.


There are some mornings that you just wake up and know that something out of the ordinary will take place. It doesn't necessarily have to be on the same day. It can be tomorrow, the day after, even a week from now. But it will happen. And there is a strong chance that you won't like it.

Jade sure thought that as she sauntered downstairs in a half-zombie like state, having not gotten her recommended eight hours. To be more precise, she had slept fitfully throughout the previous night, constantly tossing and turning, as well as waking up every hour, on the hour, and being forced to attempt to fall back asleep.

"You don't look so well," said Miranda (her mother) as she headed towards the one thing, other than whiskey, that could perk up her gloomy exterior.

"Really, what was your first clue?" was Jade's sarcastic response, her rubbery arms flailing about like a fish out of water as she scanned the counter for her trusty mug.

"I washed your mug," said Miranda, obviously knowing, having gone through this ordeal many a time. "It's in the drainer."

That made Jade's indifferent expression change to that of an angry grizzly bear that just had his sushi stolen (and yes, that was a terrible analogy; Jade wasn't at her sharpest before noon). Time and time again she wished that her mother would put it back where it was supposed to go—next to the toaster for easy morning access; not off in the drainer with a bunch of other shit that was of no use to her.

"Dammit, can't you do anything right?" Jade cursed as she started the tedious task of looking for her mug. It was the only one that she would drink out of and her mother knew that.

"Already with the language."

"Sorry," Jade apologized insincerely, "could you please help me find the mug that you moved like a bi...not nice person?"

"You know, I do have at least ten perfectly good mugs that you could drink out of; there really is no need to keep using one."

"It's my mug," Jade stated, using a voice that let her mother know that she was not about to delve further on this subject; she never did.

She continued the search, single handily, pushing past plates, ceramic bowls, and wine glasses—a lot of wine glasses—till she came upon her precious mug. There it was with its red and black border; a picture of an elephant decorated one side, her name in sparkly gold letters adorned the other side.

"That thing is wearing out from over-washing; the paint on the letters is already faded," pointed out Miranda, who was now at the stove and stirring something in a pot.

Jade ignored the insults at her beloved possession and went over to the 12 cup coffee maker—half a pot of her precious liquid sat there, every few seconds it would make the boiling sound.

"Hello, beautiful," Jade greeted the inanimate object as she filled up her cup to the near brim with the ebony liquid, letting the rising steam hit her face. There was no question that coffee had the best aroma in the world.

Keeping her mug close, she found her way to the table and pulled out a chair with her foot before sitting down and positioning her coffee so that the steam would continue to rise to her face. She then reached for the sugar bowl but was horrified to find that, much like her mug, it was not in it's regular spot.

"Where's the sugar?"

"You eat way too much sugar," Miranda responded, not turning away from her pot. "Or did you forget about those two cavities."

"I got them filled," Jade retaliated with a huff. She started to feel like her mother was going to make this day a living hell for her—and it wasn't even eight in the A.M.

"You can drink it black—or have some juice. I got some of that kind that is one hundred percent juice and no added sugar."

Jade was (very) tempted to ask her mother what she had against sugar—other than the obvious fact that it made her hips wider and her ass larger. People always said that Miranda looked just like Valerie Bertinelli—and now Jade was starting to think that she looked like her before Val ate that crappy diet food and lost all that weight.

Jade did not respond to her mother's shitty suggestions and continued to just sit there. She considered making an excuse to go upstairs and get a packet or two from her private sugar collection—having acquired them from years of pocketing whenever she was at a restaurant or coffeehouse.

And just when she was about to do that, Miranda blurted out, "Oh, I talked to your sister the other day."

That made Jade turn her chair. She could tell that her mother wanted to sound like she was just casually bringing it up, but Jade knew better. There were three things that were always a touchy subject between the two: the fact that Jade wanted to get involved in acting and such; whenever her mother found a bag of her "oregano" that she hid in her underwear drawer; and the West family—Jade's father and half sister to be more precise.

"Did the deadbeat ask you for more money? How could someone blow through a thousand bucks so quickly?"

"You know she only borrowed that money to keep her shop open. And she paid me back every cent she borrowed."

"That was such a stupid idea," Jade said with a scoff. "Let's open a cupcake shop in Brooklyn. Because clearly all the homeless and druggies are going to want to buy an overpriced cupcake."

"The shop was doing well for awhile; things just got a little too hectic. Her and her roommate did just fine. You know a small business fails every day in America."

That made Jade snarl even more. Why did her mother feel the need to defend her idiotic sister and her half-assed ideas. Not only was she not even Miranda's biological daughter, but Jade never got that kind of support for her acting and screenwriting endeavors—and Jade was actually good at what she did.

"So what did she want then? A witness at her trial? A liver donor? A—"

"That's enough, young lady," her mother declared, using the "say one more word and you will be starring at your walls for the next month" voice. "You know that things have been rough ever since she lost her business, and you don't need to aggravate it.

Jade could have told them both that it was doomed to fail and saved them the trouble, but, as always, no one asked her for her feedback.

"And your sister didn't contact me, anyway. I contacted her."

"Why?" It was plain and direct.

"Your father's birthday is next week and he told me that he wanted all his kids to be there for it."

Now it all made sense. Of course her father was involved. Why else would _she _come all the way from New York; certainly not to see her only sister.

"Since when does Dad give a fu..." Jade started, until her mother glared at her, "...dge brownie about us being there. He didn't even invite me to last year's big camping retreat extravaganza." That had been what Jade had called it, having only found out afterwords that her dad had gone camping with his new (and improved) family.

"You hate camping."

It was true—Jade hated camping and everything about it. But the fact remained that he did not even have the curtsey to extend a formal invitation.

"So," was her well thought out response, neglecting to mention that it hurt that she was left out; Jade West did not display her feelings—ever.

Miranda just stood there, likely caught off guard by that response. This continued, with neither saying anything; that was until the pot on the stove started boiling over and Miranda ran to tend to it, grabbing the big spoon that hung above the stove—right next to two pot holders and set of measuring cups.

"Get the bowls," Miranda ordered as she stirred, the very distinguishable sound of the plastic spoon hitting against the metal pot being heard.

Jade looked up from her mug, sporting a "do it yourself" look—but knowing fully well that her mother was already pissed off, and more importantly could take her car privileges away—she complied; though it did not stop her from making a scene of the ordeal: loudly pushing her chair away, loudly rising and groaning while acting as if she had been catabolic, and loudly staggering over to the drainer before finally retrieving two of the four remaining ceramic bowls—both with pictures of flowers on them.

On the way back, still making a scene, Jade caught her mother shoot her an "I'm not amused look", but she paid it no mind and continued to drag her feet as she went back to the table, setting the bowls down loudly.

Jade had just retaken her seat when her mother declared, "Oatmeal is ready." And Jade had barely looked up when she saw her mother looming over her, pot in hand: protected by her rooster oven mitt.

"I hate oatmeal," Jade stated matter-of-factly. She wished that her mother would buy more bacon. Not only did it taste better than oatmeal, but it would allow Jade to be closer to her beloved idol, Quinn Fabray: who also loved bacon.

"It's good for you—good for your digestion," Miranda responded, plopping down a generous (too generous) amount of the steaming glop in the violet bowl—which was also the one that Jade had personally picked out for herself, back when there was a full set of four.

"It looks like someone already digested it for me," Jade responded, eying the mixture of oats and water with disgust. "Can I at least put some sugar on it?"

"No."

Jade wanted to say something—several things in fact. But the words that she wanted to say would not only lose her her car privileges but likely get her grounded until she was thirty.

It won't be so bad if I just swallow it, Jade thought, having once heard almost the exact same words from Beck—though in a far different context. Holding her nose—and ignoring the dirty looks—she forced down a spoonful, immediately chasing it down with her coffee.

"See, and you ate it without sugar."

"Woot!" Jade sarcastically responded. She already started making plans to stop by the donut place on her way to school. There was no way she could get through this nightmare of a day without some good food in her system.

* * *

"Come straight home," Miranda said to Jade as she headed towards her beloved green Camaro. "Don't doddle with your friends or go to that Japanese place with that very rude woman."

"I won't," Jade assured with a sigh, having already told her mother six times. She turned off her car alarm and headed over to the driver's door, taking notice that some more damn birds shit all over her hood—and after she just went to the car wash, too.

"Oh, and I talked to Leon last night," Miranda said, just as Jade got the door unlocked.

Jade didn't want to respond—she desperately didn't—but against all the voices in her head, she said, "And..."

"And he wants to see his sisters—both of them."

"Well, neither one of us is his whole sister—but if you add us together, then I _guess _we add up to one sister." Got to love the fact that her father knocked up three different woman—if not more.

"A half sister is a sister."

"Yeah, you told me...two or three...thousands times," Jade responded as she opened the door, the dinging sound ringing out the second she did.

Miranda uttered her own sigh, making Jade fear that a lecture was coming. Fortunately, all that was said was, "Just be here."

Jade responded by slamming her door. She then made a show of putting on her seat belt and checking her mirrors and blind spot; all the shit that she didn't normally do unless her mother was watching.

"Be careful—and I love you," Miranda said, waving.

Jade just nodded and pulled out onto the road. While she was pulling out, her rear fender knocked over the trash can, spilling its contents all over the sidewalk.

And just as she was switching the gear shift from reverse to drive, she caught sight of her mother in the passenger rear view mirror—giving Jade a glare that indicated that she believed that Jade knocked the trash can over intentionally.

That was wrong of her mom to assume—even if she did do it on purpose.

* * *

_Still got a few minutes to kill_, Jade thought as she walked down the halls, coffee in one hand, powdered blueberry-jelly filled in the other. She stopped for a moment to take a bite of her donut. As her teeth made contact with the messy pastry, a small glop of jelly fell and landed on her right boot.

"Dammit!" she cursed aloud, feeling like the universe was conspiring against her. "I am the unluckiest person in the world!"

"I think those millions of starving kids would beg to differ," said a voice that Jade didn't want to hear—as if this day hadn't been going bad enough as it was.

"What do you want?" she asked, letting her disdain be known as she looked up from her boot to see him leaning on a locker, looking all smug and attractive—just like every fucking day!

"Your mom told me that your sister is flying in today," he informed, making Jade nearly drop her (real) breakfast in response.

"What?! How the hell did you know that before me?"

"Miranda told me at our book club meeting two days ago."

"I don't believe that."

"Why not?"

"You don't read."

"I read some of a magazine once—when I was at the waiting room in the doctor's office," he defended. "And it doesn't matter. What does matter is whether or not her roommate is coming, too."

"She's eight years older than you," she stated, not getting why Beck lusted after that blond doof; Jade had seen her once—in a picture with her sister, both wearing really ugly waitress outfits—and really didn't see what all the fuss was about. Sure, she had nice legs, but so did To—Tom Brady. Yeah, that was it, Tom Brady. He had nice legs from all that running he did playing...um.. that sport he plays.

"I like 'em mature," Beck responded, snapping her out of fantasy about To...Tom Brady.

"Won't do you any good; she'll never go for you," Jade informed. "Last I heard she was dating some guy that ran a candy store. Heard they were all serious and shit."

"They broke up—months ago," he informed, creeping Jade the fuck out; how did he know more about her family than she did?

"I gotta go clean this up," she stated, raising up her boot that still bore the glop of jelly. This was mostly an excuse to be away from him; she did not like socializing with her ex unless it was in her group of misfits.

"Can I come by after school?" he asked, just as she was outside the bathroom door.

"No," she responded, shoving her way in and letting the door fall back, catching sight of his disappointed face as she did. And as much as she hated to admit it—it made her feel eons better.

* * *

Jade's day started to pick up. She got a text saying that Sikowitz couldn't make it today; something about jury duty—she hadn't really paid attention. The only thing that mattered was that the whole gang got a free period. And that meant that they didn't have to eat the Grub Truck's unsanitary food and could get a real lunch. They had—unsurprisingly—opted for Nozu, ordering their usual; that was except for Jade, who decided to go extra fresh and get the salmon sashimi.

"Isn't this great?" Andrè said to the table. "Finally a lunch were I don't have to take two antacids afterwords."

"I know," agreed Beck. "I might actually get through Calculus without stomach cramps today."

"Come on, guys, the food from the Grub Truck isn't that bad," said Tori as she battled with a piece of ebi nigiri that kept slipping through her chopsticks (Jade should know; she had been watching the whole time).

"Yeah, it's great if you like indigestion and bloody diarrhea," Jade replied with a shrug.

"Jade, please, we are trying to eat," Tori said, the annoyance in her voice obvious.

"Excuse me for contributing," Jade shot back, a glare accompanying this.

"Hey, you two simmer down," Andrè said, raising up his chopsticks. "Don't ruin a perfectly good meal."

"She started it," Tori and Jade said at exactly the same time, then looked to one another, blinking. This caused the other three sitting at the table to snicker.

Jade ignored the males and went back to her food. When she realized that she didn't have her favorite thing, she started a quick scouting mission, finally spotting the precious wasabi in the center of the table; she then proceeded to reach over and snatch it up, putting it by her side and shooting a warning glare to everyone, daring them to try to take it.

"I just thought of something," spoke up Robbie. "L.A. has hundreds of restaurants—why do we only ever eat here and at Karokie Dokie?"

That actually was a good question, thought Jade—though she would never admit it. She also didn't have an answer—and by the silence that befell the table, neither did anyone else.

"What do you think, Cat?" asked Robbie, turning to the empty seat that would normally be occupied by the idiotic (dyed) red-head that they knew and loved (or tolerated in Jade's case).

"Come on, Rob, you know she's gone," said Andrè, his voice having gone lower.

"She's in a better place," added Beck, sporting a small and reassuring smile.

"She was so young; why did she have to go?" Robbie sobbed, letting his head fall to the table. "So young!"

"Dammit, she just moved to Santa Barbara," Jade said with disgust. It had been three weeks since Cat moved away and the others still acted as if she had passed on to the after life.

"And it's a really nice place," said Beck. "We should visit her—and speaking of visiting, did you guys know that Jade's sister is coming in from New York?"

Jade's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as soon as those words left Beck's pretty boy mouth. Clearly he had been waiting for a way to casually bring that up—the jackass!

"No," Andrè responded, his voice lacking interest.

"Jade has a sister?" questioned Tori, her voice the exact opposite of Andrè's.

"New York is a city and a state," said Robbie, doing a terrible impression of Cat's voice.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a sister?" Tori went on, turning to Jade, a pissed off scowl plastered across her face.

"You never asked," Jade casually responded, picking up a piece of raw salmon with her chopsticks and letting some of the juice fall. "And she's only my half sister, anyway."

"I can't believe this," Tori groaned, her normally cheerful disposition rapidly disappearing and being replaced by one of infuriation—not unlike the numerous people that Jade cut off on the highway, then flipped the bird to.

"What's the big deal?" Jade asked, dipping her sashimi in wasabi before bringing it to her lips and taking a small bite, feeling the intense heat burn her tongue—a feeling she loved.

"The big deal is I can't believe that you would keep something like this from me," Tori complained. "I tell you everything."

"I know," Jade agreed, and she did not mean that as a compliment—at all.

"I want to meet her," Tori suddenly declared. "I'm coming with you when you go get her."

She had said this just as Jade had taken a bigger bite of her sashimi. And, just as every lazy sitcom writer has utilized, sudden news plus eating anything equals choking.

"Damn!" said someone sounding like Andrè, and the next thing Jade knew, she was being slapped on the back by very powerful hands. A few coughs later, her salmon shot out of her mouth and across the room.

"Whew," Jade sighed, snatching up her glass of water and taking a small drink while feeling her heart pound in her chest. She made herself a mental note to never eat anything while around Tori; drama always seemed to follow her.

"So what time do you want to meet me out front?" asked Tori, mere moments after Jade's life and death experience (which was admittedly an exaggeration).

"You are not going."

"How's 3:15?"

"No!" Jade stated firmly, crossing her arms for effect; there was no way in hell that Tori was coming to her house. Absolutely no way.

* * *

"I can't wait to meet her," Tori said, looking out the window at the massive airport terminal—more accurately the parking lot to the massive airport terminal.

Jade had received a text from her mom to pick her sister up from the airport and had neglected to text back that Tori was coming. Tori's unannounced visit would no doubt piss her mother off—so at least some good would come out of her tagging along.

"I can't wait for you to go to an out of state college," Jade griped as she circled the parking lot for the fifth time. On the the verge of giving up, she spotted an oversized SUV pulling out, and wasting no time, she waited as it slowly—painstakingly slowly—pulled out. She then zipped her Camaro into the spot and uttered a victory laugh as she pulled her gearshift into park, rolled up the windows and turned off the engine.

"Let's go," Tori said, unbuckling her seat belt and practically jumping out the car.

Never had Tori's everlasting perkiness pissed Jade off more; it was almost as if she was being extra perky to make up for Cat's absence.

"I'm in no hurry," Jade said, making sure to lock her doors and put the alarm on—she didn't trust airports, among other places.

Just as Jade was about to start the tedious task of hunting down the terminal that her sister would emerge from, she felt a soft and well moisturized hand link with her own. It didn't take a theoretical physicist—like the guy on that show with the jokes that she didn't understand—to know whose it was.

"Vega?" Jade demanded. She could feel her face getting red and her body temperature begin to rise—and with the humidity being mild—especially for Los Angeles—she knew it wasn't because of that.

"Just wanted us to stay together," Tori responded, Jade taking notice that she was also sporting a red face—especially in her cheeks: her perfect cheeks that everyone, including Jade, took notice of.

"Good thinking," Jade agreed, getting a surprised gasp from Tori. No doubt Tori was expecting her to sumo flip her or threaten to disembody her with scissors. And to be honest, Jade was surprised by her own reaction as well.

Jade hoped that she wasn't going soft. Especially when she had not one but two siblings arriving. They could smell weakness.

* * *

"Fuck," Jade cursed under her breath. Fifteen minutes of searching and all she had to show for it were sore feet.

At the moment, she was was sitting at a table in the food court, being situated between the kiebalsa stand and the place that served authentic Indian curry (quite a war of the odors), having decided to stop and rest. Tori was currently getting them some beverages while she tried to get a hold of her mom for further instruction—a task that was proving to be unsuccessful.

"Here," Tori said, setting down a plastic cup—the 32oz kind—in front of her. "The coffee line was a mile long; hope an Icee is okay."

Jade was about to say that "no it wasn't" and make her stand in that mile line (possibly with the intent to leave her there) when she decided to taste it before she told Tori that she didn't want it. But one sip and she was changing her tune.

"Blue and red mixed!" Jade gasped, the familiar mixture of blue raspberry and cherry gracing over her taste buds. She hadn't had one of those in a longest time; not since—

"That's your favorite, isn't it?" Tori said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yeah, but how did you know that?"

"You told me once, when we were at the mall."

That startled Jade so much she nearly fell out of her uncomfortable chair. She had told Tori that...over a year ago. How could she have remembered?

Jade was about to question her on that—then she heard some people talking, loudly They were being very rude and obnoxious, even by airport standards. And Jade wasn't about to let that go unpunished.

She started tuning out the rest of the voices around her: as an actor you had to learn to tune out the audience and focus only on your scene. Once done, she was easily able to hear the voice again.

_"Hey, Max, want some of my pretzel?"_

That voice...so perky and irritating (even when compared to the girl sitting next to her). Now she was almost locked on, just a little bit further...

"The guy that served you didn't wash his hands before he kneaded that dough...so yes," said a very familiar voice that made Jade gasp; she knew that thick and irritating Brooklyn accent and terrible sense of humor anywhere—and from there, she easily traced it to the source.

"There you are," Jade declared, standing up and shouting, earning several looks from the people seated nearby—none that Jade paid any heed to; her focus was entirely on the person—or in this case persons—who were filling up their water bottles with soda from the fountain.

"Max, is that your sister?" said the first voice, revealed to be the same blond woman from the picture. Jade recognized her slender figure, long legs and golden locks that shimmered—accompanied by perfectly trimmed bangs: rivaling those of Lea Michele.

"It is little Jadey!" responded Max, rushing over—and before Jade could blink, she was being smothered. "We finally found you." She tightened her embrace and Jade could feel her inner organs contracting.

"Could you let go?" Jade gasped; she knew that Max was only doing this because it annoyed her—some things really did never change.

"Sure thing, Jadey," Max responded, and Jade could almost feel her arrogance as she let go. Max then proceeded to look Jade up and down, spending a particularly long time looking at her chest, almost like she was checking her out. "I see puberty has been kind to you."

Did her sister just compliment her body?

"Though they aren't as nice as mine," Max went on, gesturing to her own rack. It seemed to have shrunk—as Max definitely looked skinnier—but was still large.

"You were here for two whole minutes before you gave me a backhanded compliment—a new record," Jade said sarcastically, then turned to the blond woman, who was being surprisingly quiet.

"We looked everywhere," said the blond woman. "Well...Max just looked at the bar—even though I told her that you wouldn't be there."

"If you had to sit next to a fat man who took up two seats and sweated like the Sahara you would need a drink, too," Max defended, then turned to Tori, who had also been quiet. "So...Jadey...who's your friend?"

"Call me that again and you will need to visit the airport hospital," Jade growled. She wished that she hadn't left her scissors back at the car—though she likened that her fists would suffice...for now.

"Hi, I'm Victoria Vega but my friends call me Tori." Tori held out her hand and the blond woman gladly accepted it.

"Hi, I'm Caroline Channing," the blond woman responded, shaking Tori's hand.

That name seemed to ring a bell in Jade's head. Moments worth of racking her brain later, she was reminded of whom the girl was; her dad was the one who stole all that money and was now looking at life with no chance of bail (Jade had been rooting for the death penalty).

She considered saying something but opted to save it for home; this kind of dirt could prove to be handy for getting out of a tight situation.

"Are we done with the introductions?" Jade asked, feeling even more annoyed than when she started. "Mom is already going to bite my ass off for being so late and dragging...this along." She pointed to Tori, getting a look from said woman.

"Yeah, let's go," agreed Max. "But let's stop by the metal detector again."

"Why, won't the guards frisk you?" questioned Tori as they all began walking.

"Yes, and that's the most action I have had all month," said Max, making Jade groan; she could already see that she was going to have a lot of _this _to look forward to.

* * *

"And that's why we lost our shop," Max finished, having just filled Jade and Tori in about everything that happened while Jade continued to drive the lot to her house.

"I felt like we lost a part of ourselves that day," Caroline added, not looking up from her phone.

"Wow," Tori said from the backseat. "That must have been rough."

Jade rolled her eyes while simultaneously doing her best to keep her focus on the road. It would be easier if Max wasn't up front and constantly needling her about her driving.

"Hey, look what Andy just texted me!" Caroline said, holding up her strange looking phone for all to see.

"If it's another picture of his wang then I don't want to see. I already got five," said Max, using a voice that made it impossible to tell if she was serious or joking.

"You know we don't do that," Caroline responded with a scoff. "But do you think that we should?"

Jade wondered if they were aware that there were two girls that were only seventeen in the car. Or if they even cared. Not that Jade was a stranger to sexting—she had never done it, being well aware of the repercussions—but she knew all the mechanics of the process.

"I thought you and that Andy guy were splitso?" Jade spoke up, mostly as a way to deter the conversation away from its current subject.

"They are broken up, but their privates aren't," Max replied, and Jade could not help but think that Max looked a bit upset when she said that.

"Max!" gasped Caroline. "And that was just the one time."

"For now," Max muttered, and Jade definitely saw the hurt in her response that time. Something was definitely going on—not that she cared enough to find out what it was.

The rest of the car ride was mostly silent—save Caroline blurting out about something that the Andy fellow sent her. And Max, who had been rather cheerful when Jade first saw her, seemed to grow more and more irritated with each shout out. It was almost enough to make Jade pull over and tell Caroline to shut the fuck up.

Fortunately, Jade was saved the trouble by finally pulling onto her street. As she got close to her house, she sent her mom a text—while ignoring the shouts from Tori and Max to keep both hands on the wheel—to let her know that they had arrived, deliberately leaving out the part that Tori was with them.

She got a response almost immediately from her mom. And it was not one that she liked:

_Got a surprise waiting for you girls!_

Somehow, especially with the day that she had been having, Jade just knew that this was not going to be a surprise that she would like.


End file.
